Turtle Bay Resort facts for kids
The Turtle Bay Resort is a beautiful hotel and group of cottages located on the famous North Shore of Oahu island in Hawaii. It's a popular spot for visitors looking for fun and relaxation by the ocean.
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Discovering Turtle Bay Resort
This amazing resort is about a 50-minute drive from Honolulu. It sits between the towns of Kahuku, Hawaii to the east and Kawela Bay, Hawaii to the west. The resort owns a huge area of land, about 858 acres, with five miles of oceanfront right at Turtle Bay.
The resort has 410 hotel rooms and suites, including special Premier Rooms. There are also 42 cozy Beach Cottages that were updated in 2015. Plus, you can find larger Ocean Villas with two to four bedrooms. The hotel recently spent $45 million to make the whole resort even better. This included improving restaurants, event spaces, and guest experiences.
The hotel was built with three sections on a small piece of land that sticks out into the ocean. This design means every room has a fantastic ocean view! You'll find many places to eat at the resort, like Surfer The Bar, which works with Surfer Magazine. There's also The Point Sunset and Pool Bar, perfect for enjoying the view. The resort also has The Guide Post, which is like a super helpful concierge. It helps guests find fun activities and experiences.
A Look Back: History of the Resort
The hotel first opened its doors in May 1972. Back then, it was called Del Webb's Kuilima Resort Hotel & Country Club. In the Hawaiian language, kui lima means "joining hands."
It was built by a person named Del Webb, who was known for building casinos. He hoped it would be the first casino on the island. However, a plan to allow gambling in Hawaii didn't pass in the 1970s.
Later, Hyatt Hotels took over the property. It was known as the Kulima Hyatt Resort Hotel and then the Hyatt Kulima Resort. In August 1983, Hilton Hotels & Resorts started managing it, and the hotel was renamed Turtle Bay Hilton and Country Club. Hilton stopped managing the property in 2001, and it became "Turtle Bay Golf and Tennis Resort."
Over the years, there were plans to make the resort much bigger. However, many local people were against these big expansion plans. In 2008, the Governor of Hawaii, Linda Lingle, even suggested that the state should buy the property to protect the land. Groups like The Trust for Public Land also tried to raise money to save the open spaces.
In 2010, a new group of investors took over the resort. After several years of legal discussions, the Hawaii Supreme Court decided in 2010 that new development plans would need a special environmental study.
In 2017, a company called The Blackstone Group bought the hotel, golf courses, and surrounding land. They planned to update the hotel and build new resorts nearby. The hotel closed for a while in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. It reopened in July 2021, and the updates are still happening.
Fun Things to Do at Turtle Bay
The resort is just a few miles from famous surf spots. These include Waimea Bay, the Banzai Pipeline, and Sunset Beach.
If you love golf, there are two amazing golf courses. They are named after their designers, Arnold Palmer and George Fazio. The Palmer Course has hosted big golf events like the Turtle Bay Championship. The Fazio Course has also hosted the LPGA Tour's Hawaiian Open. Interestingly, parts of the golf courses were once runways for the World War II era Kahuku Army Airfield.
Close to one of the golf courses, you can find the James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge. This area helps protect a small pond and its wildlife.
In 1999, the resort hosted the final Big Mele. This was a rock music festival that had been held for six years before that.
Many movies and TV shows have been filmed at or near Turtle Bay Resort. The hotel has been a setting for episodes of Hawaii 5-0, Magnum P.I., Full House, and Cougar Town. It was also featured in the TV series North Shore. The resort was even the setting for the movie Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding. You might also recognize it from the 2008 film Forgetting Sarah Marshall and the 2016 film Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates. Keeping the area natural and undeveloped was one reason people wanted to stop the resort from expanding.
